Dhoni should remain as Test captain: Gavaskar

New Delhi, Feb 1: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Tuesday said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is still the best choice to lead India in the longer format of the game and wants BCCI to be patient before selecting Dhoni's replacement who could take over from him in the future.

Criticised after losing two consecutive Test series overseas and poor performance in Test cricket, Dhoni is ready to quit as captain if the BCCI finds a better replacement.

But Gavaskar feels otherwise and said, Dhoni is still the first choice for captain, "Dhoni obviously must have felt deeply the 4-0 loss of India. So what he wanted to say is that he is ready to play under a captain if the BCCI can get one, and that is exactly what you expect from a team man like him," Gavaskar told 'NDTV'.

"In my view he is still the best bet for the job, there are of course a couple of candidates but BCCI should wait for a couple of seasons as Mahi himself said may be till 2013 so that we can have a better idea of the candidates who are likely to take over from him in future," he added.

Gavaskar was not in favor of three different captains for three different formats, "If you have somebody to captain all three formats, nothing like it, really because there would be no division of command.

"If you have a captain for each format of the game then the common players in all the formats will get confused because of the division of command," he said.

Asked if the 0-4 whitewash will be forgotten if India do well in the ODIs, Gavaskar said: "No, I don't think it's likely to happen. Every team and player is rated by how they do in Test, which is the highest level. It is a Test victory which matters to real cricket lovers."

Gavaskar said if India do well in the ODIs, India can look at the future players with right temperament. "If India do well, it will give us an idea about players who can be looked at for future. Because in 50 overs, one can have a better look of players who can play under pressure and have a good temperament," he said.